


Unexpected Delays

by WarlockWriter



Category: Jericho (US 2006), The Agency (TV 2001)
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Fear of Flying, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Trapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:41:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25632973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WarlockWriter/pseuds/WarlockWriter
Summary: Lex is flying to Jericho to help the Sheriff's department with some software upgrades. Naturally, his fear of flying has to get justified. Big time!This is my pinch-hit entry for Dickmas 2020. Gifted to the incomparable Samshine and Lollipops.Many thanks to the awesome Datajana for the beta and, most importantly, THE TITLE! And to the amazing Rich server who keeps coming up with the BEST fic celebration ideas. You guys are my found family. and I love you all.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 10
Collections: Dickmas in July 2020





	Unexpected Delays

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Samshine_and_Lollipops](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samshine_and_Lollipops/gifts).



_ Fly to the middle of nowhere, Lex. Help the hayseed deputies, Lex. _ The words going through his head had developed into something of a mantra during the flight from DC to the Denver airport. He stepped out on the tarmac to meet his connecting flight and stopped, unable to move another step.

“Wait. No one said anything about flying in a puddle jumper.” Another passenger shot him a questioning look, and he realized he had said it out loud.

The “plane” awaiting him looked like it might hold…twenty people? Tops? And was that an actual nose propeller? Or whatever they called them? Shit! It was. Oh fuck! Lex knew he was going to die.

Clutching his laptop bag so hard his fingernails were digging into his palm, he stepped onto the--he hesitated to call it an airplane--and found his seat. Right! Just his luck. Aisle seat, Row 5. Middle third of the plane. Statistically, the most dangerous place to be.

He was so dead. He knew it.

Sitting in his seat, he stowed his laptop, knowing he’d get it out as soon as they got to a cruising altitude. He  _ needed _ to check the weather. As he shoved his bag under the seat in front of him, he looked more closely at the floor under his feet. Was that? Seriously? Was there really light streaming up through the carpet? Was the belly of the plane not completely sealed?

He sat up and just shook for a moment.

The flight attendant paused on his way by. “Everything all right, sir? You look a bit pale.”

What could Lex say? He doubted anyone would listen if he demanded this plane stay grounded. It had to be safe, right? He shook his head, and the attendant moved on. Lex watched him go. He had a nice ass. That had to be worth something.

***

Bill entered the station, and the sheriff called his name. “Koehler!”

“Yes, sir?”

“I need you to go to the airport and pick up that CIA agent. He arrives in an hour.” The sheriff glanced out the window at the low, heavy clouds. “From the looks of it, you might need that much time. Storm’s coming through.”

Bill scowled, careful to turn his face away from his boss so he couldn’t see the expression. He’d argued against bringing in this so-called CIA computer expert. Computers were highly overrated, especially this new “smart system” that was supposed to help in solving crimes. Bill couldn’t imagine a machine ever replacing good, old-fashioned police work.

However, his boss had given him an order, so Bill heaved an internal sigh and went back outside to warm up the 4x4. He figured he’d need it. Snow was already starting to fall. The forecast was calling for eight to ten inches and blizzard conditions. Why couldn’t Riley have been on duty today instead? He could be all warm, hanging out on Jimmy’s sofa with a cold beer and a bowl of chips, watching the game. But no, instead—he shot a look at the sky—instead, he was getting ready to drive to the airport in the middle of a fucking blizzard. He hoped the guy would at least be pleasant company.

***

“Please fasten your seatbelts and remain in your seats. We’re experiencing a bit of turbulence, and this is for your safety.”

Lex lifted his headphones in time to hear most of the message. “A bit of turbulence” was an understatement. The small plane jounced furiously and seemed to be going backwards as much as forwards. All he could see through the window were thick clouds. He checked the time on his phone. They were supposed to land in thirty minutes. He hoped they would make it. Opening up a weather site on his laptop, he had to quell his rising fear. It looked as if two storm systems were colliding pretty much right over Jericho, Kansas, the Podunk town he was supposed to be visiting. This wasn’t going to be his day.

The plane gave a huge lurch, and gravity pressed Lex back against his seat. Even with the thick clouds, he could see the angle of the plane was basically forty-five degrees downward. Shit! Shit! Shit!

“Please assume crash positions, everyone,” came the too-calm voice over the intercom. “With the weather conditions, we’re not going to make it to the airport. We’re going to try to land in a field.”

Land in a field? The words raced through Lex’s head as he leaned over, hands on his head, face pressed into the seat in front of him, feet flat on the floor. He swore he could hear the wind whistling below them. He closed his eyes, certain this was it. He was going to die out here in the middle of fucking nowhere!

The last things he remembered were utter cold and the sensation of flying. Fortunately, he never felt himself hit the ground.

***

Bill swore when he heard the whine of a twin-engine plane above him. Glancing up, he saw the Denver to New Bern turboprop falling from the sky. It looked as if the pilot were trying to make a controlled landing, but Bill could see it was never going to work.

The plane landed hard, bits flying in every direction. He thought he saw a body hurtle through a window and hit the ground. That would be his priority. But first, he needed to call this in. Driving carefully through the falling snow, which was almost keeping ahead of his wipers, he reached for the radio. “Dispatch! We’ve got a plane down, ten miles west of Jericho. Send fire, ambulance, and anything else you can find.”

“Ten-four, Bill. But with this weather, it may take a while.”

“I know. I’m nearby. Going to see if there are any survivors. It…doesn’t look good.”

Right then, there was an explosion, and the plane flew into many, tiny bits.

“Shit! It just exploded. I’m going to see if anyone gets out.”

“Be careful.”

“I will.”

Bill drove his SUV as close as he could to the wreckage. He could feel the heat on his face as he got out of the truck, wishing he could have gotten closer, but something told him there might be a secondary explosion.

One look at the flaming wreckage told him no one was going to come out of it alive. The only chance of a survivor was the one he’d seen thrown from the wreckage. Pulling his coat collar up against the cold, he hurried as fast as he could through the deepening snow toward where he thought he’d seen the body land.

Fortunately, he’d gotten there quickly, and the falling snow had not yet covered the person, whom he saw, as he approached, was a man. Bill knelt by him and put a careful hand on his back, where he felt the slow rise and fall of his breath. Good. He was alive. Blood stained the snow near his head, but that seemed to be it at a first glance. He was torn. Wait until the medical team got here--with no certainty of how long that would be--or move him to the SUV and risk aggravating a potential back injury? The man’s shivering finally decided him. Bill pulled off his jacket, wrapped it around the man, and carefully turned him over.

A head wound bled sluggishly, probably slowed by the cold. His left arm and leg lay at odd angles, likely broken. He took in the rest of him quickly. About Bill’s height, probably a bit lighter—Bill had more muscle—and maybe a few years younger. Similar colored hair. If someone saw them both from a distance, they might be thought brothers, possibly even twins, though the other man’s face was leaner, with long sideburns.

His eyes drifted open. “Where am I?”

His voice was slurred, but Bill still thought it was a light baritone with an Eastern sharpness. “Your plane crashed. I think you’re the only survivor. We’re just a few miles from Jericho. What’s your name?”

“Lex.”

Bill’s eyebrows shot up. Oh! This was that computer expert. Well, he’d be doing no work for them right away. “Can you feel your limbs?”

“Yeah. They hurt. And I’m cold.”

“Can you move your fingers and toes?”

Lex’s fingers moved weakly, but they moved. His shoes jerked a bit as if his toes were wiggling. “Yeah. Left side hurts to move, but I can move everything.”

That decided Bill. “All right, then. Hopefully, your back isn’t injured or at least not too badly. Emergency help is on the way, but…” He glanced at the heavy clouds, snow falling and blowing hard enough to be considered blizzard conditions. He continued, “I don’t know how long it will take them to get here in this weather. I think it’s best to get you in my truck, where there’s heat.”

“Okay.” Lex moved slightly, obviously trying to sit up.

“Easy, let me help you.” Bill got an arm under his right shoulder and basically pulled the younger man to his feet. He was glad he’d been working out. He got them both balanced. Lex tried to put his left foot on the ground and drew in a breath, just shy of a scream.

“Yeah, hop on your right leg. I’ve got you.”

It took a while, and Lex did actually scream in pain a few times as they unavoidably jostled his leg, but they finally made it to the SUV. Bill helped him into the passenger seat and buckled him in. Climbing into his own seat, he reached for his radio. “Dispatch. I’ve got one survivor. The plane exploded, so I don’t think there are any others. Is the medical team on the way, though? The survivor needs medical attention.”

His heart sank at the next words. “That’s a negative, Bill. There’s been a huge ten-car pileup at Interstate 70, just two miles from the New Bern exit. If you’ve only got the one survivor, we have to prioritize where we send the emergency vehicles.”

“Ten-car pileup? What happened?”

“Details are sketchy right now, but it sounds like an out of state group, from somewhere in the South, were caravanning to some reunion.”

Bill nodded, able to fill in the rest of the pieces. Bunch of cars. Drivers inexperienced with snow. Yeah, that was a recipe for disaster. He glanced over at Lex, who lay back in his seat, eyes closed, breathing labored. His eyes darted to the snow, still falling steadily. The tracks of their steps back to the SUV were long gone. The heavy fall even seemed to be having an effect on the burning plane. He hated to leave it and even the remote possibility of survivors, but it looked like it was under control for the moment. “Yeah, I see your point. Okay. I’ll try to make it back to town. Let them know I’ll be bringing in one survivor from the plane crash?”

“Ten-four, Bill. Good luck.”

Bill started the engine and shook his head. Luck was the one thing they hadn’t had much of so far. He put the truck in low gear and gingerly started to drive. As expected, the traction was crap. They’d need a change in their luck to make it back to Jericho.

“What’s your name?” came a weak voice from beside him.

“Bill Koehler, deputy sheriff from Jericho.”

Lex stirred, gave a gasp of pain, and stopped moving.

“Keep as still as you can. This is going to be a rough enough ride as it is.”

“How far?”

Bill shook his head, attempting to peer through the wall of white. “On a normal day? Not far at all. In these conditions? God knows.”

“Right.” Bill noticed Lex was shivering. Great. Shock on top of everything else. He turned up the heat and considered. There was no way they’d get to the clinic in less than an hour, probably longer. Might as well stop now and try some first aid. “Let me see if I can get you more comfortable. I’ve got a first aid kit in the back.”

Lex nodded, eyes still closed.

There was no point in pulling off to the side of the road--Bill doubted any cars were going to come by in the next few minutes—and stopping in the middle of the road gave him the best chance to get going again. So, he carefully braked, sliding a bit, and hopped out to get a blanket and the kit from the back.

“Here,” he said, handing the blanket to Lex. “Wrap that around yourself if you can. Let me take a look at your injuries. What hurts the worst?”

“Leg,” was all Lex said as he took the blanket but then stared at it blankly. Bill put down the first aid kit and, moving Lex carefully, wrapped the blanket around him. Even with care, he was unable to avoid jostling the man’s injured arm, but Lex gritted his teeth and stayed silent.

“Sorry about that.”

“Nothing you can do about it.” Lex awkwardly pulled the blanket closed with his good arm while Bill examined him.

The head wound had stopped bleeding, probably helped by the cold. Bill bandaged it quickly, hoping to keep it from starting again. “Let me check your eyes?”

Lex opened them. “Okay.”

Bill kept a small flashlight on his keychain, and he used it to check the dilation of Lex’s eyes. “You probably have a mild concussion.”

“Great. That explains why my head hurts like anything.”

“That and the head wound, yes.” Then, he took a look at Lex’s leg. He gently touched an area that was swelling and didn’t look like it was at the correct angle.

“Yeah, that’s where it hurts,” Lex said, teeth gritted.

Bill nodded and reached into the kit for a vial of morphine. “Gonne give you something for the pain.”

Lex nodded as Bill injected the pain killer. Moments later, Bill felt his body start to relax. “That’s helping.”

“I’d hoped so. Because I need to straighten this, and that’s going to hurt, even with the morphine in you.”

“Do what you have to.”

Bill carefully manipulated the leg. He could feel Lex’s breathing speed up, but he also noticed the man tried his best not to jerk or stiffen against the pain. Bill had prided himself with his ability to pick up first aid. He’d even briefly considered becoming a paramedic, but he liked police work better. Without warning, he twisted and straightened the leg.

Lex bit off a scream.

“Yeah, I know that hurt. But I had to do it.”

“You seem to know your stuff.”

“Picked it up quickly. The paramedics like it when I’m the one who calls in a crash scene. I can usually stabilize people before the ambulance arrives.”

“Lucky me that you were the one coming to pick me up.”

Bill just nodded as he wound gauze and an Ace bandage around his leg in a makeshift splint. “That’s the best I can do for now.”

Lex leaned forward to look. “Feels better.”

“Good. Now let me take a look at your arm.”

Lex sat back, and Bill felt gently along his left arm. Finally, he said, “I think it’s just a bad sprain. Let me wrap it, and we’ll get going. I’d like to try to get you to the clinic as soon as possible.”

“Works for me.”

Bill wrapped the arm and then sat back, satisfied. He’d done what he could, and he thought he’d done it well. April would be pleased.

“Morphine still working okay?”

Lex had closed his eyes, and he gave a small nod. “Yeah. It’s fine.” His voice was slurred and tired sounding.

“All right. Let’s get back to Jericho.”

He put the SUV in gear and started driving again. Glancing over at Lex and remembering the likely concussion, he turned on his stereo. Loud country music— _ Homegrown _ by the Zac Brown Band—blared over the speakers. Lex opened his eyes. “What the fuck? I hate country.”

Bill shrugged. “Too bad. You need to stay awake. This should work, then.”

Lex grumbled but didn’t say anything. He stayed awake, though.

The next thirty minutes were tense. The snow was heavy, and the temperature was enough below freezing that ice wasn’t a problem. But it was getting deep. Bill wasn’t sure they were going to make it. The SUV had good clearance, but maybe not quite good enough. It was a rough ride, and he wasn’t surprised that Lex made regular sounds of pain, even with the morphine in his system.

“Sorry. I’m doing my best.”

Lex nodded. “Yeah. But we’re driving through a blizzard. Not much you can do about it.”

They trundled along, Bill doing his best to try to find the shallowest path, but finally, as he’d feared, they drove into a patch that was just a bit too deep. Bill carefully revved the engine, steered carefully, but it was no good. He wasn’t going to be able to get them out of it.

Lex, who had been looking out the window, stirred. “We’re stuck?”

“Looks like it. I’m not sure I can push us out by myself.”

“Do you need me to try to steer?”

“I don’t think it’ll help. Besides, I don’t really want to move you any more than we have to. I think your neck and back are okay, but now that you’re settled, let’s keep it that way.”

“All right.” Lex turned his attention back to the whirling snow out his window.

He picked up the radio again to call in their situation.

“Can you last for a few hours?” Dispatch asked. “They’re still clearing the accident, and it sounds like we’ll need the plows to get to you.”

Bill checked the gas gauge. Almost three-quarters of a tank. Good. Someone had filled the SUV recently. “Yeah. I’ve got enough gas to idle the engine and keep the heater running all night, if needed. Not that I want to stay out here that long.”

“We’ll try to get to you before morning. Keep us posted.”

“Will do.”

“So, we’re going to be here for a while?” Lex asked sleepily.

“Looks like it.” Bill pushed his seat back and tried to get comfortable. “We’ve got one more dose of morphine. Hopefully, that will see you through until they can come plow us out.”

“All right.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Bill cranked up the heater again and reached over to adjust Lex’s blanket. “Damn I want to sleep.”

“I know, but it’s a bad idea with a head injury.”

“Well, if we’re going to be stuck here, tell me about yourself? All I know is that you like country music.”

Bill wasn’t big on sharing personal stuff, but Lex had a point. He found himself talking about growing up in Jericho, getting up to all sorts of mischief as a kid—Lex even laughed at the hog farm story—and how he’d wanted to be a deputy pretty much all his life.

Finally, he wound down. “Not much, I guess, but that’s me.’

Lex nodded. “I’d like to meet your partner. He sounds like a good guy.”

“Jimmy’s the best. You’ll like him.”

Huh. Earlier in the day, he’d been all grumpy about this computer expert. Now he wanted to introduce him to his partner. A gust rocked the car, reminding him of their situation. Well, getting trapped in a car in the middle of a Kansas blizzard would either make them like or hate each other. Budding friendship was certainly more pleasant.

“What about you, Lex?”

The hacker gave his story, which Bill noted was lacking in certain personal details. Like his last name. However, he had some good CIA stories—Bill found himself choking up a bit at hearing about the death of Stiles and Terri—but they did have a chuckle at the irony of Lex’s fear of flying.

“Never going to get over that now, will you?” Bill asked with a grin.

“Probably not. Actually, crashing and getting thrown out of a plane has definitely sealed things for me. If I have my way, I’ll never fly again.”

“That would make the job pretty tough, I’d think.”

Lex settled back in his seat a bit. “Can I tell you something I haven’t told anyone else yet?”

Bill raised an eyebrow at him. “Sure. As long as it’s not like betraying a national secret or something.”

Lex shook his head. “No, nothing like that. It’s just…well…I do like my job, but something has gone out of it since Terri and Stiles…you know.”

“Are gone,” Bill said firmly, understanding not wanting to say the word “dead.”

“Yeah. I’ve been wondering what I should do next. I mean, I’ve run a dot-com and been a CIA agent. What do you do after that?”

Bill surprised himself by what came out of his mouth. “If you don’t mind living in the middle of Kansas, we could use someone with your technical skills. Sheriff Dawes wants to bring us into the twentieth century.”

Now it was Lex’s turn to raise an eyebrow at Bill. “You know we’re in the twenty-first, right?”

Bill nodded. “That’s my point. Our equipment is still stuck back in the 90s.”

Lex gave a small shudder, but his expression was thoughtful. “You know, I am a city boy at heart, but there is something appealing about it.”

“You could get away with not flying.” Bill hadn’t expected how much he wanted Lex to agree to the idea.

Lex nodded. “Okay, fair. That’s a good point.” He paused and added, “It’s not a bad idea, actually. Let me think about it while I recover?”

Bill found himself smiling broadly, a warm happiness settling in his chest. “Yeah, that’s perfectly fine.”

The radio crackled. “Bill? You still there? We’ve got a plow and an ambulance on the way.”

Lex grinned at him, and Bill’s smile widened. He picked up the radio. “Yeah, we’re here. Glad for the rescue.”

“Okay. Give ‘em another hour or so.”

Bill nodded at Lex. “We can manage that. The company’s pretty good.”

Lex’s smile lit up his entire face. Bill liked that. Maybe Lex would stay, and he’d get to see it a lot.

They both settled back in comfortable silence to await rescue.


End file.
